Brigham Young University has a club for everyone — even aspiring accountants.
The Marriott School of Business sponsors the Accounting Society and serves as the umbrella organization for accounting and financial clubs at BYU. It has around 900 members.
Daniel Taylor and Gabby Wilson, the club's co-presidents, created several new initiatives to help students find networking opportunities early in their college experience. They worked with the School of Accountancy's career placement team to use BYU resources — such as Handshake — to make lists of internships more accessible to students.
"Through these initiatives, we've been able to help them actually place before being in the junior core (in) their junior year, which is the big, you know, time that they have their big internships," Taylor said.
Taylor and Wilson have also spearheaded case competitions within the club and helped create a new website. It's designed to help students, especially freshmen and sophomores, have a cohesive club experience while getting practical feedback.
"Having that experience in their freshman and sophomore year makes them more competitive applicants," Taylor said.
Wilson hopes that her efforts will have a lasting impact on the students in her club.
"I hope that they, students, feel more excited about accounting and that they feel confident about their decision to go into the accounting program," Wilson said.
Wilson wants her club members to know that the Accounting Society has helped her personally grow.
"I think I found it super beneficial, and I've loved my time here in the accounting program, and I hope they also choose to do it and they also have that joy that I've had happen doing this program," Wilson said.
One of the club's biggest priorities this year stems from an invitation by Brigitte C. Madrian, the business school's dean, to become more like Jesus Christ.
"I think we're building Christ-like leaders, and I think that's important, that as we mix both that professional level of preparation we're also mixing that spiritual level of preparation," Taylor said. "Whenever people think of the Accounting Society, I would hope that they could also think: Christ-like leadership and faith in Christ."